Combined floor waxer and polisher



May 36, 1950 W. H. LEE

COMBINED FLOOR WAXER AND POLISHER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 31, 1946 May 30, 1950 w. H. LEE 2509,68?

COMBINED FLOOR WAXER AND POLISHER Filed Oct. 31, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 30, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COMBINED FLOOR WAXER AND POLISHER William Henry Lee, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Application October 31, 1946, Serial No. 706,992

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to improvements in com bined'floor waxers and Polishers.

Anobject of the present invention is .to provide a simple, cheap, light, and easily manipulatedrdevice for applying wax to a floor surface.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a polishing device which is adaptable to applying wax to a floor surface and convertible by means of aseparate polishing attachment to polishing said fioor.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a polisher of this type which is adaptable to polishing operation either in the horizontal or vertical position without kneeling or laborious efforts to reach parts which are not easily accessible.

With these and other objects in view, the present invention generally comprises handle means removably mounted on a waxing element used normally for applying wax to a floor surface. After the wax has been applied to the floor it may be polished by mounting polishin material on the waxing element by means of clamps. In the preferable form, a housing fits over the complete structure, sides being disposed in spaced relation to the floor surface and the body of the polisher to guard coves, trims, and the like, against smear marks.

Other objects of the present invention will be revealed by a study of the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the waxer of the present invention mounted in a suitable holder for storage in a cupboard.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the body blank of the present invention relevant in the construction of the waxer.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the covered body 1 ii portion of the waxer showing a cover plate.

Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the operable elements related to the mounting means employed to the handle of the present device.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the handle mounting means.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the assembled wax spreading device.

:Figfll is a perspective view of a holder designed to accommodate the present device for storage.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the present device showing polishing means mounted thereon.

Fig. 29 indicates the blank form of the polishing material employed and clamp means for mount ing the same on the waxer according to Figure ,8.

Fig. 10 is a lower perspective view of a housin designed to enclose the present device.

Fig. 11 is an elevation of the present device showing the housing in section mounted thereon revealing the protective use of the housing.

engagement with the forming member.

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the present device with the housing mounted thereon.

Referring to the drawings, a body blank I3 is made of a face member 2 l and a forming member I-Z, "the forming member being mounted on the former to provide an annular surface substan- 'tially as shown. The edges of the forming mem ber 12 are undercut as shown at l3 and M for purposes hereinafter revealed. As shown in Fig ure 3, the body member 13 is enclosed by a suitable cloth material 15, the latter being stitched adjacent the terminal edges of the body as at It. The plate I! is a mounting plate designed to accommodate the handle mounting assembly revealed in Figure 4. on the top of the body Ill.

The handle mounting means are relevantly displayed in Figures 4 and 5 it will be observed that a mounting member i8 is fastened on- :to the forming member l2 of the body H) by screws l3 and 20 holding the plate ll firmly into The mountin means it extend upwardly in the form of tongues 21, "the latter having axial bore -22 designed to accommodate a shaft means "213. As will be noted, the shaft means 23 evidence a shaft portion 24 having a reduced diameterin the centralportion .25, the enlarged end 26 of the member '23 being slotted as at 2'! to mount a swingable screw member 28 by the pin means 29. Cooperating springs 30 and 3| are mounted by impinging the same betweenthe base of the mounting member i3 and the mounting plate ll as revealed in Figure 5, the spring members extending upwardly to engage the shaft 23 in the reduced diameter portion 25, thereby locking the shaft in the lock ing member H3. The upper spring 31 extends in a spring platform 32 so that the operator may easily depress the spring to facilitate entry or removal of the shaft member 23 from the mounting member 18.

The device thus described constitutes an assemblage forming a waxing member as revealed in Figure 6, where the handle 33 is shown mounted on the screw member 28 to facilitate manipulation of the device. Preferably the device is "used in this form as a waxer for applying wax to a floor surface. The waxer so described, due to the mounting means employed for mounting the handle to the body, is capable of free manipulation even over portions of the floor space which are normally .difiicult to approach. To this end, the respective universal mount for the handle will allow simulation of rotary movement of the waxer which is usually preferred when wax is manually applied. It will be observed thatthe device capable of being passed under objects relativel-yclose to the floor surface due to the universal handle mount and small clearance :height 10f the structure.

When operations have been completed. the

waxer may be stored in the holder 34 in the manner revealed in Figure 1, the holder 34 being mounted in a convenient spot in the household. When the wax has sufiiciently hardened after be ing applied to the floor surface, polishing operations may be undertaken with the addition of a minimum of auxiliary means to the waxer body itself.

Referring to Figure 8, the waxer body in its complete form is shown having a polishing cloth 35 mounted thereon by clamp means 36. The polishing cloth 35 is cut in blank contour sub stantially as shown in Figure 9 having extending end portions 36a and 37 and side members 36 and 39. The clamping means 36 have extending arms 40 and 41 designed to engage the undercut portions l3 and [4 of the forming member 12 of the body I0. In order to mount the polishing cloth 35 on the waxer body it is only necessary to lay the latter on top of the cloth and fold an end portion of the latter upwardly and over the relevant end portion of the body, at the same time folding up the excess material extending from the sides of the body and engaging the marginal portions of the polishing cloth by a clamp 36 in the undercut portions l3 and i l of the forming member I2. Both ends of the polishing cloth 35 are mounted in the same manner, necessitating the use of two clamps 36 substantially as revealed in Figure 8.

In polishing operations particularly, it is often necessary to guard against marring the marginal trimming of a floor surface particularly in mod.- ern houses where light coloured materials are used. Therefore, a housing member em in the form of a box structure has an orifice 42 designed to pass loosely over the tongue members 2! of the mounting member 16 and rest on the extending base portion of the mounting member as revealed in Figures 11 and 12. As will be observed,

the sides 43 of the housing lla are disposed in spaced relation to the body member, the terminal edges of the side members also having a suitable clearance from the floor surface. Therefore, as polishing operations are undertaken near the marginal edges of the floor surface, the housing 41 will engage the trimming 44 of a conventional cove member 45 and prevent smearing of the decorative trimming. For burnishing operations to obtain a high polish on a floor surface, a steel wool pad 46 may be mounted in a similar manner to the mounting of the polishing pad 35 but having its wire members running longitudinally of the body. Preferably in such instance, the polisher should be moved over the floor, exerting a minimum of pressure in the direction of the lay of the wire members of the steel wool.

When the device is used as a polisher, it may be moved over the surface of a floor in the same manner as that described in connection with waxing operation, the movement of the polishing element being free and flexible so as to have not only reciprocating, but a horizontal rotary movement similar to that which is employed by a person rubbing the floor manually, and thus quickly and I eificiently polishing the surface of the floor.

mounting means of the handle, the same requiring only a simple pressure of the thumb on the spring platform 32 to allow disengagement of the handle mounting shaft 23 from the mount 18. Waxing operations are straight-forward and the addition of further components to facilitate polishing of the floor is cut to a minimum by the provision of a polishing cloth 35 and its mounting members in the form of the clamp 36. Further, the mounting means for the handle are indicative of the structure of a human arm, in that the screw member 28 corresponds with the forearm and the pin 29 and shaft 23 functionally correspond to the action of the wrist, control being effected through the disposition of the pin 29 away from the axis of the body of the waxing element 10 as revealed in Figure 1, thus the wrist and forearm movement, which would normally be employed while waxing a floor in the kneeling position, can be simulated by a person operating the present device by its handle and from the standing position. Moreover, inclusion of the holder 34 ensures an efficient and handy way of storing the present waxer, providing a means of substantially excluding air from the soft wax impregnated in the polishing element to prevent hardening of the same during the interval of storage until further waxing operations are undertaken.

What I claim as my invention is:

A waxer and polisher comprising a waxing element adapted to removably receive a polishing element, a handle and mounting mean for removably mounting said handle which causes it to freely rotate about two axes, one of said axes being perpendicular to the other to cause a simulation of wrist and forearm action during use, said mounting means for the handle comprising a mounting member fastened to the waxing el ment and extending upwardly in the form of tongues, the latter having co-axial bores therethrough disposed at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the waxing element, a shaft slidably mounted in said bores and having a portion of reduced diameter disposed between said tongues,

spring means extending from said waxing element and designed to engage said reduced portion of said shaft to hold said shaft in said bores, said spring means being depressible to allow removal of said shaft therefrom, one end of said shaft being swingably connected to the handle of the waxer to facilitate simulating movement of the human arm in waxing and polishing operations.

WILLIAM HENRY REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,451,200 Boyle Apr. 10, 1923 1,526,161 Lyon Feb. 10, 1925 1,966,533 Lee July 17, 1934 1,969,476 Riebel et a1. Aug. 7, 1934 1,989,825 Schaefer et al Feb. 2, 1934 2,007,536 Knott July 9, 1935 2,034,455 Baird Mar. 17, 1936 2,173,350 Bissell Sept. 19, 1939 2,428,204 Crosby Sept. 30, 194'? FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 45,757 Switzerland, Dec. 12, 1908 165,458 Switzerland Nov. 30, 1933 

